[gunwale]

Ares just marched into the town and out of the box it already shows some of the strong qualities!




Thanks to Alvin from Vinshine Audio for a top-notch customer service!

any comparison yet?

 

[pam1950]

great thread, learned a lot, thanks guys

 

[Mr Pluto]

any comparison yet?

It`s cold out of box and maybe only 2 hours of playing time plus I have brand new pure silver xlr cables on Ares that need some burn-in also. I will let it play at least 24h before some serious listening.
.............But the first impressions are positive.

 

[krell1967]

It`s cold out of box and maybe only 2 hours of playing time plus I have brand new pure silver xlr cables on Ares that need some burn-in also. I will let it play at least 24h before some serious listening.
.............But the first impressions are positive.

Very well, let us know your listening impressions

 

[Mike Nee]

Hi guys, could any of you compare the sound of Ares to the Arcam irDAC (I not II)? http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,rSeries,USB-DACs,irdac.htm#productdetails

If not,than maybe to any other DAC based on Burr-Brown PCM1796?

Thx, Mike

If not with Arcam irDAC, can anyone compare to Audiobyte Black Dragon, as a DAC only. Mentioning what amplifier was used, if possible.

 

[Audio-68]

  I just ordered the Ares from Vinshine audio, shipping to USA. Will compare with the new Audio-GD Singularity 19 when I receive it. Currently using Soekris DAC1101 which I really like. I'm skeptical if either the Ares or Sing19 can compete with the Soekris. I 'll let you know in a few weeks after I receive and burn them in.

 
Last night I finally reached ~150 hours of burn in on the Ares; the sound has changed quite significantly from when it was new. Comparing it to the Soekris DAC1101 I'd say the Ares has the same detailed sound and good decay on instruments, but the sound of the Ares seems less forward than the Soekris. Here's an example of how they compare on the soundstage, listening to Joe Satriani's song Andalusia, the Soekris presents a striking amount of detail and clarity, and you can hear Joe's guitar coming from the left at mid height (horizontally), while the bass guitar is clearly to the lower right. Meanwhile, hearing  Joe through the Ares, his guitar comes more toward the center but still left at mid level and the bass guitar from the right but more centered and also at mid level. Both present a wide soundstage and good separation.
 
When the Ares was new and only had about 4-5 hours, it sounded very detailed and sterile. With 150 hours it has relaxed into a warmer? sound. I'm having trouble describing it because I don't want to say muffled because I still hear detail, but the sound is certainly not bright and in your face. The Soekris seems more neutral but leans toward a brighter sound, but still very pleasing and musical in its own way.
 
I probably have grown accustomed to a brighter sound because I have a somewhat bright and revealing system (Sonore MicroRendu into a passive pre Lightspeed Attenuator, McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe Rev. A, Magnepan 1.7).
 
I'm not sure what else to say, I'll listen more and try to form a better opinion of the Ares. I should have my Audio-GD Singularity 19 delivered today, and I will report back in a week or so on how it compares.

 

[Moochibond]

   
Last night I finally reached ~150 hours of burn in on the Ares; the sound has changed quite significantly from when it was new. Comparing it to the Soekris DAC1101 I'd say the Ares has the same detailed sound and good decay on instruments, but the sound of the Ares seems less forward than the Soekris. Here's an example of how they compare on the soundstage, listening to Joe Satriani's song Andalusia, the Soekris presents a striking amount of detail and clarity, and you can hear Joe's guitar coming from the left at mid height (horizontally), while the bass guitar is clearly to the lower right. Meanwhile, hearing  Joe through the Ares, his guitar comes more toward the center but still left at mid level and the bass guitar from the right but more centered and also at mid level. Both present a wide soundstage and good separation.
 
When the Ares was new and only had about 4-5 hours, it sounded very detailed and sterile. With 150 hours it has relaxed into a warmer? sound. I'm having trouble describing it because I don't want to say muffled because I still hear detail, but the sound is certainly not bright and in your face. The Soekris seems more neutral but leans toward a brighter sound, but still very pleasing and musical in its own way.
 
I probably have grown accustomed to a brighter sound because I have a somewhat bright and revealing system (Sonore MicroRendu into a passive pre Lightspeed Attenuator, McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe Rev. A, Magnepan 1.7).
 
I'm not sure what else to say, I'll listen more and try to form a better opinion of the Ares. I should have my Audio-GD Singularity 19 delivered today, and I will report back in a week or so on how it compares.

Nice - thank you for your impressions will be very interesting to hear your thoughts once the A GD S19 is thrown into the mix
 
Thanks!
 

 

[Minbeo]

Here's an example of how they compare on the soundstage, listening to Joe Satriani's song Andalusia, the Soekris presents a striking amount of detail and clarity, and you can hear Joe's guitar coming from the left at mid height (horizontally), while the bass guitar is clearly to the lower right. Meanwhile, hearing  Joe through the Ares, his guitar comes more toward the center but still left at mid level and the bass guitar from the right but more centered and also at mid level. Both present a wide soundstage and good separation.

I tried the song on my Aune S16+HD800 and it sounds the same as your Soekris, Joe's guitar sound very upfont & clearly from the left little above eyes height, drums're at the centre & pushed back, bass guitar's from the right and at about nose tip lvl height. Headphones gonna sound clearly 3 blobs than speakers.

 

[Audio-68]

  I tried the song on my Aune S16+HD800 and it sounds the same as your Soekris, Joe's guitar sound very upfont & clearly from the left little above eyes height, drums're at the centre & pushed back, bass guitar's from the right and at about nose tip lvl height. Headphones gonna sound clearly 3 blobs than speakers.

Thanks for your impressions. I find that song was recorded well, don't you agree?
 
 I really like the Soekris, but for my system I think I'm going to use the Ares for now until I compare with the A GD S19. I've decided to sell the Soekris to fund another dac purchase and I'm up for suggestions, maybe the Aune?

 

[Minbeo]

 
Thanks for your impressions. I find that song was recorded well, don't you agree?
 
 I really like the Soekris, but for my system I think I'm going to use the Ares for now until I compare with the A GD S19. I've decided to sell the Soekris to fund another dac purchase and I'm up for suggestions, maybe the Aune?

Yeah, i like the song.
Aune has no R2R offer and i'm trying to replace the S16 too, really like the Schiit Gungnir Multibit but it cost 1500$ here so Ares or Audiogd S19 gonna save me alot of money.

 

[gunwale]

Last night I finally reached ~150 hours of burn in on the Ares; the sound has changed quite significantly from when it was new. Comparing it to the Soekris DAC1101 I'd say the Ares has the same detailed sound and good decay on instruments, but the sound of the Ares seems less forward than the Soekris. Here's an example of how they compare on the soundstage, listening to Joe Satriani's song Andalusia, the Soekris presents a striking amount of detail and clarity, and you can hear Joe's guitar coming from the left at mid height (horizontally), while the bass guitar is clearly to the lower right. Meanwhile, hearing  Joe through the Ares, his guitar comes more toward the center but still left at mid level and the bass guitar from the right but more centered and also at mid level. Both present a wide soundstage and good separation.

When the Ares was new and only had about 4-5 hours, it sounded very detailed and sterile. With 150 hours it has relaxed into a warmer? sound. I'm having trouble describing it because I don't want to say muffled because I still hear detail, but the sound is certainly not bright and in your face. The Soekris seems more neutral but leans toward a brighter sound, but still very pleasing and musical in its own way.

I probably have grown accustomed to a brighter sound because I have a somewhat bright and revealing system (Sonore MicroRendu into a passive pre Lightspeed Attenuator, McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe Rev. A, Magnepan 1.7).

I'm not sure what else to say, I'll listen more and try to form a better opinion of the Ares. I should have my Audio-GD Singularity 19 delivered today, and I will report back in a week or so on how it compares.

cant wait for your comparison

 

[ZGojira]

 
 


 
 
- Denafrips dac-68
- Holo Spring (from Wildism Audio HK, Jensen Caps + Silver Transformer)
 
Impressions coming soon

 

 
Here comes the initial impressions

 
The Spring has been well burnt-in, whiles the DAC-68 has less than 12 hours on it. So if the difference is anything after pre- and post- burn-in differences on the Spring, there could be quite some change
 
Main listening gear was a pair of Stax SR-001 mk2. Source was either from PC (USB) or Fiio X5 (Coax). Since the DAC-68 is not burnt-in yet, the more serious comparisons will have to come later

When that happens, a full desktop setup will be used

.
 
Sound
The Spring has a wider sound-stage, and sounds more 'refined'. It also sounds more "realistic" compared to the DAC-86, i.e. things sound more like a live performance rather than a recording.
Bass is also stronger on the Spring, it's more bodied. The DAC-68 in comparison sounds slightly more lean, but the detail is around the same level. I find that a more bodied bass does give a more engaging experience, but this is purely personal preference.
 
The DAC-68 sounds more centered, and mid focused. Certain details tend to jump out at you, as opposed to the spring where everything is just there for you to discover.  Again, this is will depend on preference.
 
Interestingly, I find that the DAC-68 reminds me of the Spring in OS PCM mode. So the differences might actually be more on the filters used than the architecture of the dac.  So from my guess is that NOS vs OS makes more of a difference than DS vs R2R. I didn't try any DSDs, but probably will when the detailed comparisons are done. Note that DSD sounds amazing on the spring

 
Other Observations
- The Spring runs warm (even in standby mode), the DAC-68 runs so cool, you would not even know it had been on even after a long time.
- The DAC-68 goes into standby mode when there's no input plugged in.
- On the DAC-68, the SQ difference between USB and coax is significant

. I was shocked at how bad coax sounded. I haven't tested toslink so I don't know if that sounds any different. (unless you use a DDC

)
This difference between inputs has made me seriously consider a Singxer SU-1 for the Spring. But currently, coax and USB sounds about the same on the Spring.
- The Spring is very heavy, the DAC-68 is very light (think solid brick vs empty metal box)
 
TL;DR
For me the DAC-68 is not quite a Spring replacement/killer. I think this comes down to my preference of the NOS sound. Both are great products at their price points. You will get more than your money's worth on both products. Just get whichever your budget allows.

 

[gunwale]

how much is your spring holo

 

[ZGojira]

how much is your spring holo

Do you mean how much it costed me?

 

[gunwale]

yeah what's the price tag on your spring holo or how much did you purchased it for?